How to Communicate Effectively

I Love Bookkeeping

What are different ways you can communicate in a more effective way? And how can you ensure that, as a business owner, your team members feel valued, and instill a great communication mentality in your company? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss how to communicate more effectively as a business owner in different contexts – including with people you don’t really like.

[0:44] Hannah and Melissa – who have been working with a communication consultant for almost two years now – find the topic of this episode to be one of their favorites.

[2:14] Melissa believes that the art of communication is something we all constantly work on and have room for improvement for it.

[2:59] Hannah breaks down the four main types of communication: verbal, non-verbal, written, and visual.

[4:52] The co-hosts both admit to struggling with non-verbal communication.

[7:31] For Melissa, communicating effectively and respectfully are both equally important.

[7:56] Hannah sees professionalism as key. Whether you’re listening to someone, writing something for them or similar, you need to remember that you’re going to be working with these people and you should act, behave, and communicate accordingly.

[9:44] For written communication, both Hannah and Melissa recommend you take a look at Grammarly.

[11:52] When it comes to communicating with her team members, Melissa typically relies on Slack. However, for delegating a task, she’s open to the other person using whichever platform, tool, or app they’re comfortable using the most.

[13:10] Hannah believes that asking questions and communicating your goals, as well as your boundaries and expectations, could help avoid miscommunication.

[15:59] Melissa likes to learn what other people’s goals and boundaries are. She also stresses the importance of asking about these boundaries.

[18:12] Hannah shares what she believes workplaces, business owners, and bosses should focus on to create a happy work environment.

​​[21:42] Melissa throws remote working into the mix and adds how to address the issues at hand in a remote work environment.

[24:43] There are four horsemen, and in his study, these are the things that Gottman identified to understand whether a marriage will work: criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling.

[25:23] Co-hosts Hannah and Melissa touch upon the importance of trying to focus on communicating and working harmoniously with someone you really don’t like.

[30:20] When trying to communicate with a remote team, Melissa thinks it’s important to overly communicate in a positive manner.

Mentioned in this episode:

Grammarly

Slack

ILB episode 23 - How to Be a Better Boss and Create a Company Culture Your Employees Will Love

John Gottman’s Four Horsemen

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